Ping Pong Poms....

I probably need to redecorate in the larger lounge room...

:smile:

But you don't really need a TV room, or a rumpus or even a laundry...

 

You don't need an inside toilet or central heating in the UK either - but they make life more pleasant. The usefulness of spaces like TV and rumpus rooms depends on the size of the family, their age ranges and the type of life you have. They can be a real advantage with kids/teenagers when you want to encourage them to socialise with their friends at home - rather than roaming the streets - but not have your life totally dominated by their noise, high energy levels and "music". The same could be said for some spouses. :laugh: Personally, I have never lived without a separate laundry and would not consider it - I'd give up some other room in the house first.

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. We have friends who have ping ponged 4 times for various reasons. They are now in the UK and returning to Oz next year for the 5th time. I don't think they know themselves any more. It seems that once you have lived in 2 countries some people are then torn between the 2.

Back in England I'm missing having a separate laundry. The kitchen in my flat is very tiny, so having a washing machine in there making access to the gas meter extremely difficult, isn't my idea of fun. I just wish the rest of the flat and the leafy location on the side of a hill hadn't tricked me into buying the place.

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. We have friends who have ping ponged 4 times for various reasons. They are now in the UK and returning to Oz next year for the 5th time. I don't think they know themselves any more. It seems that once you have lived in 2 countries some people are then torn between the 2.

WOW!! I hate to think how much money they've thrown at it... Do they have children??

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. We have friends who have ping ponged 4 times for various reasons. They are now in the UK and returning to Oz next year for the 5th time. I don't think they know themselves any more. It seems that once you have lived in 2 countries some people are then torn between the 2.

True very true I wish I could experience the best of both.Sometimes wish I had never gone the first time having had a taste of it.The theory you will regret it if you don't go for it didn't really work for me.

Hi!

I suspect I missed that boat as we returned home in 2011...

 

Are you still in Aus?

Yes, still in Aus after 3 years and now buying a house. The country has been good to us. I believe the change was retrospective so despite leaving in 2011 you may still be eligible. I'd talk to the High Commission in London.

i didnt settle the first time we moved to oz & i made my husbands life miserable until he agreed to move back to the uk. it was brilliant being back for a few months but i realised pretty quickly it was a huge mistake & that i threw away a pretty fab life in oz & we started saving all over again to move back out to oz. when i thought about why i didnt settle the first time i realised i just wasnt mature enough to leave my family the first time & i just had a bad attitude. always comparing things & being frustrated about silly things that i thought were bad when really they were just different. i didnt have any friends & thought ozzies were unfriendly but really i was just horrible to be around.

 

we managed to move back after a couple of years saving & it has been brilliant this time. we moved back to the same place we were the first time & this time i have made lots of lovely friends & i really appreciate everything oz has to offer. i have a lifestyle my friends in the uk have to go on holiday for & apart from wishing my family was closer i dont miss anything about my old life in the uk. the only real difference though this time around is my attitude.

 

i dont think a holiday will help. you need to look inside your own self & think about why you gave up the first time. i know a few people who ping ponged & they have all settled the second time & are really happy. mostly they agree the difference is attitude. but no one else can tell you how it will be for you. this forum has lots of useful visa advice but dont expect much support for moving back to oz. i think a handful of people have made it the anti living in oz forum & the happy successful people dont post much anymore.

I think you've hit the nail on the head! I didn't settle because I didn't allow it - too focused on going home to enjoy life as it was... I know I didn't put much effort into making friends as I was only biding time til I was gone. Always comparing things to UK and thinking of things as wrong rather than different! Maybe I have matured in the last 5yrs and can look back differently.... Or perhaps it is just rose tinted specs....

Life here isn't bad at all. Although the prospect of ever buying an inhabitable house is depressing, but I expect the same prospects in Aus. We don't live near family - haven't done for over 15yrs. We don't really see the majority of family any more than we did when we lived in Australia. Homesickness is a strange thing though and often makes you think your past life was better than it actually was... We have good friends here but all of these friendships have been formed since our return to UK.

The class structure in England irritates me. I say England as I don't think it's as apparent in Scotland or Wales but that could just be me experience.

I miss the lovely big houses we lived in in Australia and the outdoor living. I always said that if Australia were closer to the UK geographically, then I'd have stayed.... So perhaps it was just the isolated feeling.